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Friday, June 24, 2011

Spark your Child's Imagination at The Kmart Playdate Place #playdateplace

When I was a kid Kmart was the place where my parents always shopped. There was a Kmart on every corner and they always had everything we needed in a one stop shop. You could find everything including fishing gear, hardware tools, kitchen supplies, food and toys. Slowly the Kmarts in our area have closed leaving the consumers missing the store they grew-up shopping in. This past week the kids and I looked online at the Kmart website to see what is new. We were excited to see that Kmart has developed a new website just to encourage play. It is called Playdate Place.

Kmart still knows what the consumer wants: more than a place to shop. They not only have a place to shop for toys but also a place where you can get advice from expert writers, perks and even a birthday club.

I allowed the kids to shop online and pick-out some new toys for the summer. It can be challenging to keep three little kids busy all summer and some new toys can help encourage play. I gave my kids a budget and selected some toys for them to shop for. They spent hours shopping the website, budgeting their money and working cooperatively together. I was so happy to see my children working together. After they selected the toys they were going to purchase they asked if I could take them to a Kmart. Since the Kmart by our house closed before they were born I searched online for our closest Kmart. The nearest Kmart was almost an hour drive, but I could not talk the kids into shopping online. They wanted to see what Kmart was all about.

It was the last day of school and we made an adventure out of it. They came with their list and their money prepared to shop. When we first entered the store I immediately had childhood flashbacks. The store was exactly how I remembered it, although modernized with TV shopping carts.

The store was just as good as the website. They had every toy on their list - plus more! The rows were neat and organized with an employee always around to help us find the items we were looking for. Before we knew it our cart was beyond full and we could not add any more toys.

The kids had a lot of fun in the store, just like I remember from being a child.

When it was time to check-out we had great service again. We were offered warranty plans and also invited to sign-up for the Kmart perks program. Then when we were done a great employee named Angel saw that I had two carts full of stuff and helped me to the car. He even loaded the items into my trunk!!

The kids were so excited and said it was their best last day of school ever! We made the decision to host a playdate and show their friends the new website while playing with our new toys. The kids are having fun trying to decide if they should have a pool party or movie night playdate.

Play with a purpose and encourage your child's emerging skills and abilities. Through your child's play you can explore their emerging abilities and stay on track of their natural development.